By McKenna Schueler
Orlando Weekly, Sept 30, 2026
Florida’s minimum wage is about to hit $15 — and that didn’t come by chance, or the political will of politicians, but by the tenacity and determination of Floridians themselves.
A $15 minimum wage in 2020 got more votes in Florida than either Donald Trump or Joe Biden, receiving bipartisan support from voters across party lines. More than six million Floridians of all political stripes that year voted for Amendment 2, a ballot measure to gradually increase the state’s minimum wage. Its passage made Florida the first state in the U.S. South — a region marred by anti-worker policies and economic insecurity — to get on track towards a $15 wage floor. ...
At least 20 other states, plus Washington D.C., also now have a minimum wage of $15 or higher, or are on a path towards $15. According to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, Florida is joining six other states — Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Missouri and Nebraska — in reaching a minimum wage of at least $15 in 2026. ...